Tsuki no Hime
by A. Lee
Summary: HIATUS A retelling of the traditional BSSM story in which details are expounded upon, explanations are given, and the author is apologetic for her ignorance of Japanese education and customs.
1. Episode One

To the Reader:

           I have always wanted to mature Serena, because you must admit that after all the fanfiction you have most likely read, the Sailor Moon TV show just doesn't seem as … well, as "cool" as it once was.  There are times when Serena's intelligence glimmers through, times when you just know that she can be a good princess.  It is those moments I am planning on capturing and expounding upon.

            I believe my following re-edit-ation (I made up a word!) will be about the anime (cartoon), not the manga (which, apparently, can be very confusing).  Either way, I would first like to accredit that all information I received is from Hitoshi Doi's anime page, which is a very informative page if you're looking for Sailor Moon background research.

            Either way, I would like to warn you beforehand that my Usagi (and yes, I will be using the Japanese names, despite my North American slip in my first sentence) will be of the omniscient type.  You know.  The ones that always have the "princess" in them throughout the fanfiction.  The ones who know everything, see everything, calculate everything.  It kind of dehumanizes her, but it's the best I can do given the circumstances.

            Also, I will be using a couple of phrases of Japanese vocabulary, but everything _I know about Japanese vocabulary comes entire from other fanfiction, so I will most likely get certain phrases wrong.  I apologize, and I appreciate a correction, but I _will_ get annoyed if fifteen reviewers in a row moan and groan about it._

Thank you for your time.

Most Sincerely, 

A. Lee

Episode 1: 

            Nakimushi Usagi no karei naru henshin

            [The crybaby Usagi's splendid transformation.]

            For a blessed moment, there was a silence interspersed occasionally with a snore followed by a snort coming from a pink lump on the bed, which was covered with a comforter that had been kicked off at some point in the night and pulled back on when the occupier of the bed had discovered the frigidity of the night.  The room itself was rather messy, and had the look of a girl who could manage to clean her room if forced to do so by a neat-freak mother, but until having her manga privileges taken away from her, chose not to do so.  Various articles of clothing draped across the backs of chairs, and a towering pile of unread manga by the doorway just asked to be tripped upon or knocked over by a carelessly-thrown backpack.

            The silence was pierced by a shout from below, one of a matronly mother who tolerated no nonsense from her children.  "Usagi!" she cried for what seemed the umpteenth time.  "It is eight-o-clock!  If you don't get up now, you'll miss-"

            Her shout was interrupted as a mussed-looking blonde sat straight up in bed, rubbing her eyes blearily as she glanced at the alarm clock balefully.  She let out a soft (very soft) string of curses under her breath, cursing her stupidity for having stayed up late the previous night reading manga (with a flashlight under her covers, hurriedly tucking both manga and flashlight away every time she heard footsteps.)  "Okaa-chan," she wailed, dragging out the middle syllable in a way reminiscent of the whining and crying of young toddlers, "why didn't you wake me up earlier?"

            Not waiting for a reply, she tugged on a rumpled suit, not caring that it was the one she had worn the day before yesterday and had not yet been washed, only spending a couple of seconds before the mirror to scowl distastefully at the sailor-like uniform.  She didn't even bother running a brush through her hair, just putting it up in two little buns with the skill of a pro.  One swipe at her backpack, and it was in her hand.  One bound, and she was out of the room.  One leap and she found herself skidding down the stairs, flailing her arms wildly as she crashed haphazardly with her father.  Gulping, she muttered a quick apology, before dashing into the kitchen and grabbing an apple, stuffing it in her mouth.

            "I did," her mother said, not gazing at her only daughter as she was occupied with her task of washing the dishes.  "I called you several times, but you didn't wake up.  You weren't reading manga again, were you?"  This time, she did turn her piercing gaze upon her fidgeting daughter.

            "Nope," Usagi said, fingers crossed behind her back even as she pulled the apple out of her mouth to kiss her mother good-bye.  "Seeya!" she cried, as she dashed out the front door.  She had only taken a couple of steps before she realized that her lunch was still inside.  She had only turned around, when her mother appeared in the doorway, and tossed the lunch to her daughter, who caught it with ease.  "Thanks, Mom.  Bye!"  She raced down the sidewalk in her mad race to make it to school before the bell rang.

            Ikuko Tsukino only shook her head wonderingly.  If her daughter could be as graceful when not in a rush, life would be perfect.  Unfortunately, when her daughter was not making her way to school (late, as usual), the grace left and was replaced with the awkwardness and clumsiness all adolescents found themselves saddled with at some point or other.  She made her way back into the house, moving to make breakfast for her husband, who was rubbing a sore bruise from a head-on collision with Usagi earlier.

*

            Usagi sprinted down the sidewalk, narrowly avoiding collisions with the pedestrians, most of who were used to this sort of thing and knew to avoid the sidewalks at eight.  She almost rounded a corner, before something she caught in her peripheral vision stopped her.  She rotated on her toes rather slowly (with all the grace of the ballerina, but none of the skills of one … her parents had tried to get her to go to ballet lessons when she was younger.  As a result, she acquired a few of the ballerina's affectations, including the tendency to turn on tiptoes, but none of the true grace or flexibility or poise or precision or discipline).  To her shock, there were a group of boys (ones she recognized as boys from the local gang-wannabes) torturing a little cat with band-aid on its forehead.  She approached with all the fury of a righteous archangel, and the boys scattered upon seeing her.

            Not only did she top them in years, her petite height still towered over them, especially when she put on her glare.  Plus, they had come into contact with her younger brother Shingo once before, and she had abruptly put them in their place, and pulled Shingo home by the ear upon finding out that Shingo had joined them in picking on a poor six-year-old.  The next time they saw that six-year-old, Noreko had bunched up her tiny fist and punched them soundly in the eyes.  The next time they saw Shingo, he had coldly given them the silent treatment, and threatened to sic the teachers on them when they began to taunt him.  Needless to say, the gang was convinced (and rightfully so) that Usagi had had a hand in both of these events.

            She ignored their passing, and gently approached the wary cat.  With a quick movement, her hand darted out and pulled off the band-aid and snatched it back before the cat could scratch her.  She blinked in surprise as the black cat's eyes (which she could have sworn were clouded earlier) cleared, and were filled with startling lucidity.  For some reason, she felt herself flinch at the sight.  The cat backed away warily, before bounding off.

            Shaking herself out of the stupor she had been in ever since she felt a nagging familiarity at the appearance of the cat, she looked at her watch and realized, not without some dread, that she was late for school.  Without another thought for the peculiar cat, she jumped up and hurriedly began sprinting in the direction of the school again.

            By the time Usagi made it to school, the bell had already rung.  She slid into the classroom, and glanced at the clock hopefully, praying with all her might that time had turned back.  No such luck.  Sighing, she announced her tardy presence to the teacher, as she was required to do.

            Haruna-sensei, more formally called Ms. Haruna as she was the English teacher as well as Usagi's homeroom teacher, who had been waiting for Usagi's announcement, shook her head.  "This is the fourth time this week, Usagi.  I don't know what to do with you.  Just- Just stand outside the door.  I'll talk to you later."

            Usagi hung her head at the shame of having to stand outside the door, declaring her truancy to all that passed, and dragged her feet as she walked out the doorway.

            When Ms. Haruna exited the same doorway fifteen minutes later, having just assigned the class some busy-work to do while she reprimanded Usagi, she found that Usagi had, in her hunger, opened her lunch and finished it off except for a couple of crumbs she was currently licking off her fingers.  "Usagi," Ms. Haruna scolded.  "You _know_ you aren't allowed to eat in class.  But you do it anyways.  That's why you do so badly in school.  You have so much potential, but you don't use it."

            Usagi barely paid attention.  Most of her teachers had used the word "potential" in reference to her at some point or another.  She put on a contrite look, and allowed Ms. Haruna's harsh words to wash over her, barely feeling them pass.

            "Are you listening to me, Usagi?"

            "Of course, Haruna-sensei."

            Ms. Haruna frowned, before pulling out a sheet of paper.  "For example, this was your last test."

            Usagi took the folded piece of paper and opened it rather slowly, a dreadful feeling at the bottom of her stomach.  She almost let out an earsplitting screech when she saw the score.

            "Thirty percent?" she asked.  "But …"

            "I expect this to be signed by your parents by tomorrow," Ms. Haruna said sternly.

            Usagi nodded meekly.

            "You may go back to class now."

            Usagi did not let her sigh escape, but stalked into the room, not without some resentment, and sat down.  She craned her neck to see what the assignment on the board was.  Unfortunately, the girl sitting in front of her was a very tall one, and blocked her view of the blackboard.

            She turned to Umino, who sat to her left.  Ms. Haruna was currently conversing with another teacher outside of the classroom, and she felt that she had time to ask him what the assignment was.  Before she could form the question, however, Umino began speaking.  "How'd you do on the test, huh, Usagi?  It wasn't very hard, was it?  I forgot to study, and didn't try very hard and I still received a ninety-five percent."

            Usagi grit her teeth, and did her best not to pummel Umino.  She wanted more than anything to talk to her good friend Naru, but at this point, Ms. Haruna entered the room, and the tall girl in front moved to hand the assignment to the teacher.  Seizing the moment, Usagi hastily scribbled down the assignment.

            The rest of the day passed normally.  Usagi ended up starving at lunchtime because she had eaten the lunch her mother made for her.  She borrowed bits and pieces of food from Naru occasionally, but ended up sulking in a corner when Umino showed up to talk more about how "easy" the test was.  Naru could only take a couple of moments of his babble, before moving to join Usagi.

            At the end of school, as was their custom, Usagi and Naru chose to sit on the grass in the school courtyard and talk for a while until the mob of students had finished rushing out of the school and jamming up the gate.  They talked in low tones, first about how nerdy Umino was, and how annoying he and his obsessive rumor mill was.

            "Did you hear about Sailor V catching the jewel thief?" Naru asked excitedly, as soon as Umino approached, as both were forced to abandon their vilification of his bad habits.

            Usagi looked blank.  "Sailor V?  Who's she?  Like, a ship-person?"

            Umino had, at this point, decided to interject a comment, feeling the need to spread the knowledge.  "Ahhh, you must not have been reading the news lately," he said in an unknowingly condescending tone, not noticing Usagi bristling at the half-accusation.  "Sailor V is a crimefighter who wears a sailor-suit while she battles jewel thieves and bank robbers."  He tried to make his sentence as dramatic as possible as he barely resisted the urge to strike a pose.

            Usagi blinked.  "Crimefighter?"

            "As in superhero," Umino said, not faltering from his firm belief that there were such things as superheroes in the world.

            Usagi shrugged, dismissing Umino's odd statement.  "There's no such thing as magic," she repeated, voicing something her mother had told her many times, not really paying attention.  "But do you know what kind of jewels?"  She went starry-eyed, imagining glimmering emeralds, shimmering diamonds, sedate pearls, sinister opals, and so on.  "I almost sympathize with the poor jewel thief," she added.  "I know what it's like to long for jewels …"

            "Me, too," Naru added, thinking about some of the magnificent jewels in her own mother's store, that her mother wouldn't even let her go near, much less actually touch or hold.

            Umino frowned.  Were Naru and Usagi actually … considering jewel-thieving?

            A sudden smile appeared on Naru's face.  "I just remembered, Usagi.  There's a bargain sale today at my mother's jewelry store.  Do you want to go?"

            "Sure," Usagi said, whole-heartedly advocating the idea.  As most of the students had already left, leaving the exit empty, Naru and she jumped up immediately and raced to Osa-P, Mrs. Osaka's jewelry store.

            Umino looked at their retreating backs, before scrambling up and following them, whining, "Wait for me."

*

            An ominous figure was seated upon a black stone carved of onyx that exuded malevolence.  Perched atop the dark throne was an equally dark and equally beautiful queen with dark red hair, and glowing green eyes.  Unlike the magnificent mineral for which she was named, the one that spawned both the elegant aquamarines and the magnificent emeralds, she did not emanate a sense of brightness.  Rather, her very aura proclaimed her to be a Dark Queen.

            Queen Beryl's voice was calm, without inflection, yet not monotonous, and conveying a sense of terrible impatience.  "Jadeite," she said coldly.

            "Yes, my Queen?" Jadeite said in a half-sullen tone, not taking kindly to having to kneel on the cold stone floor in front of the Dark Queen while giving his report.

            Queen Beryl merely flicked him a glance, before he was writhing on the floor in pain.  She let him suffer for a couple of moments before jerking her head, and his writhing stopped.  "What were you saying, Jadeite?" she asked saccharinely.

            "Yes, _Your Majesty," Jadeite corrected as best he could, still gasping from the pain._

            Queen Beryl nodded.  "How has the search for the ginzuishou progressed?" she wanted to know.

            Jadeite cleared his throat nervously.  "The ginzuishou is a silver crystal with special powers-"

            "I know that already, you fool," Queen Beryl said, her voice filled with scorn.  "I suppose you couldn't find it.  Well, I hope that you have, at least, formulated a plan for gathering energy from the humans.  The Dark Kingdom requires energy to keep up, and already, your existence is causing the energy to wane away!"  Her voice was sharp, as she reminded him that the only reason he and any other member of the Dark Kingdom was alive was because they were a drain on the Dark Kingdom's energy, which constantly needed to be replenished.

            Jadeite hastened to speak.  "One of my- the youma is already gathering human energy."

            Queen Beryl smiled.  "Good."  She paused, before snapping her fingers.  Once again, Jadeite found himself writhing in pain.  Finally, the torture stopped.  "They are _my_ youma, not _yours_.  Try to remember that," she said silkily.

*

            As Naru and Usagi arrived in front of the Osa-P Jewelry Store, they watched in amazement as Mrs. Osaka, a usually sedate and well-mannered person, ran around encouraging people to buy her goods like a used-car salesman.  She proclaimed that every item was on sale, and her eyes glinted with something that neither girl could identify.  Usagi would later learn that the glint signaled the presence of a youma, for that was who it was.  Mrs. Osaka was shut away somewhere in the Osa-P Storage Room, while this youma impersonated the gentle woman to further the designs of her Master Jadeite and her Maker Beryl.

            Naru seemed a bit fazed at first at her mother's unusual behavior, but shrugged it off and dragged Usagi up to meet her mom.  "Mom, look," she said happily.  "This is my friend, Usagi.  Do you remember her?"

            Usagi did not see the evil red glint in "Mrs. Osaka's" eyes, but she felt a shiver run down her back anyways.

            "Usagi," "Mrs. Osaka" murmured, before smiling a truly evil smile.  "I have a piece of jewelry perfect for you," she crowed.  "I'll make it extra cheap, just because you're Naru's friend."

            Usagi practically drooled with delight.  "Really?" she demanded.  "How much?"

            "This," Naru's "mother" proclaimed, holding out a glittery diamond, "is actually 500,000 yen."  Usagi trembled at the price she _knew_ she could not afford, and her parents would not let her indulge in.  The youma smiled as reassuringly as it could, adding, "You can have it for 30,000."

            Before Usagi could apologize, saying that she had no money with her (because she had spent all of her allowance at the Arcade), she felt an old lady behind elbow past, thrusting 30,000 yen into "Mrs. Osaka's" hands, and grabbing the diamond.  The transaction took place so quickly, Usagi could not be sure the diamond hadn't just magically disappeared and was replaced with the wad of money.

            As more and more people crowded in front of the jewelry store, Naru and Usagi found themselves forced to move away, for fear of being trampled.  Naru bid Usagi goodbye, as she had to help her mother wit the store.  Usagi moped as she walked home alone.

            She couldn't believe that the bargain price of 30,000 yen for such a beautiful diamond was snatched away by someone else because she couldn't afford it.  And after her thirty percent she was to have signed, she would be surprised if her father ever bought her anything again.  In a fit of resentment, she crumpled up the incriminatory test paper and threw it away.

            Suddenly, a voice said from behind her, "That hurts.  Watch where you aim, odango atama."

            Usagi bristled at the nickname, and turned around, only to find her abysmal test being uncrumpled by some tall, dark, and handsome guy.  She barely suppressed her urge to swoon, instead reaching out her hand.  "Give me my test back," she said firmly.

            The man tsked.  "Odango atama, hasn't anyone ever taught you manners?"  His gaze traveled to the test.  "And a thirty?  You really should study more."

            Usagi seethed with the indignation of a complete stranger insulting her.  She snatched the test back and, without giving him a second glance, stalked away, feathers ruffled.

            She did not see the man chuckle as she left, or there would have been murder committed that day.  As it was, Usagi was in a very bad mood when she passed by the Arcade, which was how it was known.  It had no name, and there was no name needed, for in Usagi's life, there was only one Arcade.  Either way, no matter how dejected she was from the test, and then the episode with the insulting (yet handsome, although _she certainly wouldn't admit it) man, a glance at the Arcade cheered her up, for her eyes immediately fell upon the new Sailor V game that she had been itching to play for months.  All thoughts of annoying guys with were delusional enough to think that her hair was a dessert (one of her favorite desserts, as a matter of fact) were banished from her head._

            Of course, Usagi just _had_ to try out the Sailor V video game a couple of times.  Unfortunately, she had no money on her, which she remembered belatedly just as she was about to enter the Arcade.  Depressed again, she stomped away back home, dreading the moment when her parents would learn of her grades.

*

            Ikuko Tsukino smiled determinedly at her daughter when she thumped through the daughter.  "Hello, Usagi, how was school today?" she asked.  "I bumped into Umino today—he's such a sweet boy—and he told me that your class had a test, a pretty easy one.  How did you do?"

            Usagi opted for the plumping-dumb ploy.  "What test?" she asked innocently.

            Ikuko's brow darkened.  "_Usagi_," she growled, you didn't _fail_ this one, did you?"  When Usagi did not answer, she held out an imperious hand.

            Slowly, Usagi placed the test in her mother's hand, knowing that the failing grade was bad enough, and that the sore state the test was in would only serve to fuel her mother's anger.

            There were a couple of moments of complete and utter silence.

            And then there was pandemonium.  Ikuko summoned hidden reserves of strength and began bellowing at her daughter, who became indignant, and bellowed right back.  Their screaming match reached a peak as Ikuko brought up honor, the future, what Usagi would amount to, Shingo, Umino, and other subjects of the past that parents always dredged up when it came to arguments.  In turn, Usagi brought up old-fashioned traditions, out-dated superstitions, old fogies, her simple ambitions (to be a housewife), and her most important point:  that she did not care to be a tool used by Ikuko so that she could achieve what Ikuko as a child had not cared to.  Ikuko was so infuriated by the last point, that she ordered her daughter out the daughter, adding, "And don't expect to come back in for dinner, either."

            Usagi, with a rather noble hauteur, did not even deign to glance at her mother as she walked outside, clenching her fists in anger.  Her mother never understood!  Before she could even begin to bemoan the misfortune that was her life, her eyes fell on her younger, annoying brother Shingo.  Before she could open her mouth to ask him why the *** he was home so late (so willing was she to take her anger out on _someone), he sneered first.  "God, I wish I had some one a bit smarter for an older sister.  Instead, I only have __you."_

            Taken aback by the sudden attack, Usagi stopped in mid-rant (mentally, of course).  She was not allowed to retort.

            "Now, Mom's in a bad mood," Shingo continued sullenly.  "All because of you.  Thanks a _lot."_

            Usagi barely bit back an insult, and merely leveled a calm, cool gaze at him, and responded, "Sarcasm is the protest of people who are weak."

            Shingo shot his sister a disbelieving gaze at such a lame retort, and went inside, slamming the door behind him.

            Usagi merely smiled smugly.  Although she wasn't sure she had gotten the quote exactly correctly (especially seeing as it was a translated quote), but it was close enough.  Even if Shingo never read the book in his entire educational life (which was possible) the quote would stick out in his mind, and one day, he would stumble across it.  On that day, she smirked, _she_ would the one with the last laugh.

*

            Naru emerged from the rather musty office she had been doing her homework in, now ready to help her mother in the store.  As she approached the doorway, however, she was shocked to find that many of the women who (apparently) had been buying jewelry had either fainted dead on the spot, or were in the process of swooning.  She could even spot a couple of guys among the heaped bodies (most likely ones trying to buy the prefect ring for their significant other).  She turned, horrified, to search for her mother, and caught the lone, imposing figure among the heaps of corpses.  Something possessed her to keep her mouth shut just a while longer, and her discretion was rewarded.

            The woman she thought was her mother suddenly let out a quite evil cackle, and shed the mortal form as easily as a butterfly might shed its cocoon.  As she surveyed her handiwork, Naru could almost feel this woman's self-satisfaction emitted in powerful waves.  "I think I have collected enough energy to please Master Jadeite and Maker Beryl," the woman-monster-thing said in a discordant voice so out of place in this world that it literally ripped warp-holes into the air, albeit warp-holes that closed within moments.  The monster (whom Naru did not know was called a youma, and was actually one of the neophytes of Jadeite's creations) suddenly spotted a flash of red out of the corner of its eye, and turned to face Naru.

            "My daughter …" she said in a falsely saccharine voice.

            Naru backed away in abject fear.  "No…"

*

            Usagi lay on her bed, dozing.  Her mother had finally let her in after she began chucking stones in her mother's prize rose garden out of sheer boredom, and she was now too tired to do any homework.  Unknown to the sleeping figure, her side window slowly wriggled its way open, and the black cat she had encountered earlier squeezed in through the window.  The black cat warily glanced around the room, and finally, its eyes fell on the sleeping figure.  IT leaped on the figure, and claws extended, began to scratch the sleeping girl.

            "Ah," Usagi cried, now wide awake, holding her hands to her bleeding face.  She turned to see what had scratched her, and came face to face with the black cat she had saved earlier during the day.  She noted that it had a bald crescent moon patch on its forehead, something she had not discovered earlier.  She tried to back away from it warily, but as it was on her bed and she was as close to the wall as she could get, all that resulted was a rather comical flail of paws and arms and legs as she fell off the bed.

            "What did I ever do to you, stupid kitty with the bald patch," she grumbled.

            To her immense surprise, the cat spoke (with a rather peculiar accent that Usagi ascribed to as British).  "How rude.  It's not a bald patch, I am not a 'kitty'—I am a full-grown Lunarian Mau Cat—and I am not stupid."

            Usagi stared blankly at this amazing phenomenon.

            "My name is Luna.  I've been looking for you, Usagi," the cat continued, undeterred.

            There was a silence in which the cat obviously waited for Usagi to become accustomed to the fact that it was a cat, and Usagi did not disappoint her.  There were the expected blank stares, the pinching of various parts of her body, the muttering that this had to be a dream, and the determination to go to sleep just to prove that it was a dream.

            "This is not a dream," the cat said, seeing Usagi's eyes close, only to open and stare at the cat suspiciously.  "I suppose you want proof."

            Usagi gave the cat a look that most obviously proclaimed, "Duh!"

            The cat closed its eyes and braced itself for a moment before leaping into the air and doing a rather impressive back-flip.  Out of nowhere, a broach dropped to the floor, the last vestiges of rainbow light still clinging to it.  Luna turned to Usagi, holding the broach out in its mouth, and dropped the broach at the young girl's feet.  "First of all, I am a 'she', not an 'it'.  I just wished to clarify that."

            Usagi paid no mind to the stuffy cat, intent instead on the beautiful broach that captured her attention.

            Luna was unfazed.  "There are many strange incidents taking place all over Tokyo.  This means that the enemy has appeared, and _you are the one who has to beat it.  You were chosen to be a fighter, and your mission is to defeat the enemy.  Your other mission is to find The Princess and her other Guardians."_

            Usagi was not paying attention.  Her hand was resting on the broach, almost as if in a trance, her lips whispering words that Luna could not catch.

            Luna waited a few moments for the words to seek into the girl's head, whether the chit knew that she had just assimilated vital information or not, before continuing.  "Now, say 'Moon Prism Power, Make Up.'  And try not to drop the broach while saying it."

            Usagi stared at the cat for a couple of moments, wondering whether the cat was serious and when she had started actually believing the cat was real.  Finally, she did as Luna ordered.

            "Moon Prism Power, Make Up!"

            The words were spoken levelly, yet they were infused with power, and seemed to spread throughout her room.  The tingling in her spine when she said those words did surprise her, but she did not drop the broach, and when the tingling finally left, she felt different.  She felt more confident, more powerful, and more self-possessed.

            As she turned to ask Luna if something special was supposed to have happened, she caught a glance of a stranger in the mirror, and her head whipped around immediately.  She hurried to move to stand in front of the mirror, gazing at herself with something akin to dismay.  Her pigtail buns had a red and white orb in each, and her facial features were similar, yet different.  She was dressed in, of all things, a red, white, and blue sailor fuku.  Her bodysuit was white, her incredibly-short skirt and rather flimsy collar were blue, and a large red bow perched in the middle of her rather-flat chest and her waist.  On her arms were white gloves that extended gracefully from her elbow to her fingertips with red ribbed ends at the elbow.  On her feet were rather tall red boots, and perched in the middle of her forehead was a very beautiful tiara with a rare stone in the middle.  She wore a red choker with a crescent moon on it, as well as earrings that dangled crescent moons.  The rest of her costume became insignificant as a thought suddenly occurred to her.  She turned to Luna.

            "I'm supposed to _fight_ in this?"  Her scorn was understandable.  No-one ran around fighting in ultra-mini-skirts, with impractical boots that didn't allow for much movement as they extended to her knees, earrings that would most obviously get in the way if there was ever a real fight, and long streamers of hair trailing behind her (she could have sworn her hair wasn't that long normally) that begged to be tripped over.  The words had hardly left her mouth, however, when Usagi remembered that she wasn't supposed to be believing Luna, so she hastily added, "If I believed you in the first place."

            Before she could go on to detail how impossible Luna's story was, something caught her ears.  She paused in the middle of the breath she had just drawn in to use on the tirade she apparently wasn't going to rant on about after all, and heard, very faintly, Naru's voice.

            "Help.  My mother …"

            Usagi became instantly worried.  Luna, how appeared to have heard the premonition-of-sorts as well, urged Usagi to hurry up and go help Naru-chan.  (How Luna had learned Naru's name, Usagi never learned.

*

            In the jewelry store that was now scattered with, among other things, prone corpses and various debris, the youma was currently choking Naru.  Naru was rapidly beginning to lose consciousness, the beginnings of black creeping into her vision, when a voice sounded from behind her and she was dropped by the youma.

            "Get away from Naru-chan!"  The voice was fierce.

            "Who are _you?" the youma sneered._

            There was a short pause in Naru's hearing, before the same voice spoke again.  "In the name of love and justice, I am the pretty sailor-suited femme fatale, Sailor Moon!"

            There was another pause in which a distinctly British voice said disbelievingly, "Femme fatale?  You're no femme fatale!  You're a warrior, a guardian, a fighter, but certainly not-"

            "I can call myself what I want," the first voice said irritably.

            The youma laughed unpleasantly.  "You can call yourself whatever you want, but that won't change how you end up—splattered mush!  My loyal zombies, REVIVE!"

            There was a millisecond in which Naru wondered what exactly the youma had meant by the word "zombie" before she understood.  All of the unconscious women who had apparently been drained of energy now rose up, indeed rather zombie-like in manner, and began approaching Sailor Moon, slowly but interminably.  Naru had by this time, of course, managed to turn on her stomach so she could watch the goings-on rather safely from her corner without disturbing her still-tender throat too much.

            Instead of acting the part of a superheroine, as she had done earlier, Sailor Moon cringed with terror and backed away.  A little black cat at her side (who, amazingly, spoke) was rather sharp when she said, "Fight them, Sailor Moon.  Don't back away like a coward!"

            Sailor Moon seemed unaffected by Luna's harsh tones, more concerned with the approaching undead people.  She crumbled into a ball and began sobbing.  Just as the youma raised a sharply-clawed hand, no doubt ready to wreak havoc upon the devastated superheroine, a rose sharply cut a path through the advancing zombies, managing to strike the youma in the doing.  In the shadows of the jewelry store, perched atop some of the lofty rafters Naru had not known existed (because, of course, they had _not existed until he crouched upon them and would cease o exist as soon as he leapt down) was a dashing masked man in a tuxedo.  "I am Tuxedo Kamen," he said by way of introduction, "Nothing will be solved, if you must cry, Sailor Moon!"_

            Sailor Moon ignored the masked man for the present, some deep inherent fear within her shrieking for the need to express herself.  Suddenly, she looked up with angry eyes at the disconcerted youma and shrieked as loud as she could her fear, her contempt, and her nervousness.  The shriek pierced through the eardrums of the youma, as well as the various zombies, immobilizing them for the moment.

            "Sailor Moon," Luna ordered briskly before the young girl could begin her sobbing again, "Take your tiara and throw it, saying 'Moon Tiara Action' to defeat the youma!"

            Somewhat dazed, Sailor Moon nonetheless had the audacity to question the self-important Lunarian Mau Cat, asking why exactly she was to do so.

            "Never mind," the cat said irritably.  "Just do it."

           Shrugging, Sailor Moon reached up to take from her forehead that peculiar tiara that had captured her interest earlier, and hurled it at the youma, praying that fortune guided her hand.  "Moon Tiara Action!"

            The tiara sliced through the youma, turning it into dust, and then neatly returned to the waiting girl's hand, before settling back on her forehead.

            Surprised by her success, Sailor Moon could only stare in astonishment as one of the more handsome guys of her acquaintance leapt down from the nonexistent rafters upon which he had been perched, and congratulated her, saying, "That was great, Sailor Moon.  I'll be sure to remember what took place tonight."  Then he disappeared into the shadows.

            "You did well," Luna agreed, appraising her charge with new eyes.  Upon closer look, she realized that the chit wasn't even paying attention to her, direction her attention instead to the spot where Tuxedo Kamen had stood, obviously lovestruck.

*

            It is of interest to note that the next day at school, Naru eagerly recounted her most exciting dream to her best friend, Usagi.  Apparently, in the dream, some girl named Sailor Moon had defeated a most wicked monster with beclawed hands and bedeviled eyes.  Upon her recitation, some of their nearby classmates chimed in with similar dreams that revolved around this mysterious superheroine and deadly monster.  Usagi, of course, was not paying attention.  Rather, she was sleeping on her desk, and only when the loud clamor of excitement disturbed her sleep did she deign to give her classmates consideration, telling merely to "shut up, because I'm tired."

            As for what happened after that … well, that is for another day, another time … another episode.

To be continued …

            Phew.  I'm finally done.  I highly doubt I'll post up another chapter anytime soon, though, just because this is time-consuming and there are other stories I need to work on.  I am not, however, abandoning it.  I never abandon any of my stories, even if I hate them.  I just rewrite them.  J  Until next time…

Ja ne!


	2. Episode Two

To the Reader:

After an appropriate amount of time spent on schoolwork and various other stories of my creation which I highly doubt I will ever finish in _this_ life, I have finally gotten around to beginning the second episode. This is one of the fanfiction it is unlikely I will ever finish, if only because there are over 100 Sailor Moon episodes (I don't feel knowledgeable enough to venture even an approximate guess) and writing these takes much longer than it does to read them.

This is quite a tedious business. If I ever _do_ finish this, however, and if I haven't been put off anime/manga forever, I just might do the same for Card Captor Sakura. It is highly unlikely, however.

And now, before I can ramble on any further, I would just like to make a note to any readers that reviews are appreciated, but if anyone does actually bother to read this, much less review, I would appreciate comments more than "That was great, rite more" and carefully-worded constructive criticism. Unfortunately, I don't take criticism as well as I would like to, but I will make sure to address such comments in my notes to the reader. As it is, I don't think anyone has even bothered to read my first chapter yet, much less review (at least not, when I started this chapter).

Until another day,

A. Lee

Episode 2:

Oshiokiyo! Uranai house ha youma no yakata

I'll punish you! The fortune house is a youma's mansion

There was nary a breeze in the secluded corner that held the mysterious fortune-teller's booth. Inside the fortune-teller's booth sat an old, venerable man with a wise look on his face. In front of his booth was a queue of young girls, each eagerly waiting for their fortune to be told, fingering their coins rather nervously, occasionally glancing at each other to make sure they weren't the only ones there.

The schoolgirls, still young and innocent, nervously struck up conversations with each other, doing their best to ignore the stirrings of excitement in their stomachs as the line moved. One girl with a shock of fuchsia hair was speaking in complete earnestness with the complete stranger behind her. "This place is very good, they say," she said rather excitedly.

The other girl answered more timidly, eyes darting to some of the more worn and slimy areas of the street. This street wasn't in a bad neighborhood, per se, but it bordered one and was treated with wariness. "I saw it on T.V."

The fuchsia-haired one's eyes lit up as she recalled the same documentary, and both began avidly discussing whether or not the fortune-teller was as good as they said.

Neither noticed a rather disdainful blonde in the distance, barely containing his disgust at the gullibility of these girls. "Stupid humans," was the only thing he said, before he turned abruptly and disappeared into the darkness.

The eerie throne room was unlit, the only luminescence emitted by the purple glow of the throne itself. The Queen that sat upon it emitted a dark aura that constantly battled the purple glow, as if determined to rule the throne room, at the very least, in all aspects.

Queen Beryl spoke, voice icier than the Arctic winters often experienced in the North. "You didn't find the secret ginzuishou yet."

Jadeite bowed his head, acknowledging his failure, knowing that protestations and excuses would give him only more punishments.

"I expect, at the very least, some energy from the humans." Her voice held an edge of warning.

"I have already begun, Queen Beryl," Jadeite said, seizing on a chance to prove himself to his queen. "I will collect much energy when I-"

Before he could continue, Queen Beryl signaled him to silence. "See that you do," she said. She seemed about to dismiss him, when something appeared to occur to her. "Oh, and Jadeite. Make sure this isn't a failure like last time." A quick move of her fingers, and the Dark General was writhing on the floor in pain, his pain-filled voice echoing throughout the throne room, feeding the Dark Queen's malice.

The pink-themed bedroom's occupant was once again oversleeping. The digital alarm clock at her side flashed the time 8:17 AM. Unlike before, however, Usagi was not going to spend much longer in dreamlike bliss. Luna, the midnight-colored cat, was approaching Usagi like one about to pounce upon its prey. All of a sudden, she leapt onto Usagi's face. "Wake up," she ordered rather imperiously.

Her charge awoke, rather panicked. "You're choking me!"

Luna backed off somewhat. "You'll never be able to perform your mission if you keep on acting like this-"

Any more of Luna's lecture was interrupted by Usagi's wail of disbelief as her gaze fell upon the clock. "Oh no! Is it that late already! Why in the _world_ didn't you wake me up earlier?"

And once again, the whirlwind that was something known as Usagi spent less than five minutes throwing clothes on and pinning her hair up in the familiar "odangoes." Usagi caught herself thinking that thought, and was furious that the insolent jerk's one-time comment was rooting itself so deploy within her head.

Luna, meanwhile, was trying to stay out of the way, to avoid being trampled. "Oh dear …"

Meanwhile, Ms. Haruna was taking roll. "Umino Gurio!"

Usagi was making leaps and bounds on her desperate way to school.

Umino looked up brightly at the teacher, and piped, "Here!"

Usagi was at the school gates, trying to make it to class before her name was called

"Kimura Yuuji!"

Usagi ran inside the school, skidding to avoid a head-on collision with a janitor, and sprinted down the last hallway.

A bored-looking boy was prodded before he remembered to say his customary, "Here!"

Usagi was at the door, doing her best to sneak into her seat. To no avail. Despite her crawling (below the eye-level of the teacher), Umino, drat the boy, still noticed her.

"Hi, Usagi!" he chirped.

Ms. Haruna's lips curled into what might have been called a smirk. "We are delighted you found time to grace us with your presence, Usagi." Her eyes hardened. "Into the hallway! Now!" Out of what was perhaps malicious intent, she ordered Umino out in the hallway as well, for having stood up and greeted Usagi when he ought to have been doing the busywork she had assigned them.

Usagi huddled miserably in the hallway, wallowing in her desolation, before noticing that Umino was, for some peculiar reason, standing right next to her. "Why are standing here?" she demanded, edging away from him. Umino was well-known for his obsession with entomology as well as gossip, and she wanted to make sure he had no bugs with him right now.

Umino suddenly looked rather sheepish. "Er… that's … It's not something I can explain right now."

Usagi shot him a strange glance, and moved to the other side of the door. The dejected Umino made no attempt to follow.

The rest of the day passed rather normally for Usagi. She was, as usual, detained for detention and spent almost her entire lunch with Naru griping about how mean Ms. Haruna was being. She purposely avoided such subjects as superheroines, her new cat, and Naru's jewelry store robbery dream, all being subjects which made her uneasy. As they began talking about other subjects such as how unfair Mrs. Tsukino was being about certain restrictions, Naru mentioned in passing that Usagi should visit the old fortune teller whose reputation was wide-spread. Usagi determined to do so.

That afternoon, while Usagi was seeking the wise fortune-teller, Umino was having an interesting conversation with Naru. It went somewhat like this.

Naru: Hello? Who is this?

Umino: _heavy breathing_

Naru: Hello? _nervously_ Answer or I'll hang up.

Umino: It- _voice cracks_ It's me. Umino.

Naru: _sigh of relief_ What did you want to talk about, Umino?

Umino: I- _heavy pause_ I have a confession to make. _words tumble out in a rush_

Naru: Nani? I don't think I heard you very well. _confused_

Umino: I want to go on a date with Usagi.

Naru: _absolute silence_

Umino: I also want to exchange diaries with her.

Naru: _the crickets chirp_

Umino: I want to talk with her parents about our future together.

Naru: _startled into talking_ I don't think that's a good idea, Umino.

Umino: Why not?

Naru: _desperate _Just take it from me. You will have no chance with Usagi if you go at it like that.

Umino: _disappointed _Oh. Then how do I go about it?

Naru: Just don't go at it like that. _mutters _She might die of a heart attack.

Umino: What's that? A heart attack?

Naru: _sweetly _Oh nothing.

Umino: So, you think I should attack from behind?

Naru: _barks out_ No!

Umino: _silence_

Naru: I just mean … you have to have your fortune told to see what you have to do. I hear that the one on 10th street is really good.

Umino: Okay then. Bye.

_click_

Naru: _silence _Oh. My. God. doubles up in laughter I _so_ cannot believe this. Can't wait 'til Usagi finds out that Umino has designs on her. snickers

_click_

Meanwhile, a rather apprehensive Usagi was making a visit to the aforementioned fortune teller. She was very nervous, as no-one was around. The streets were usually intimidating enough when they were filled with girls waiting to have their futures unraveled. Now that the streets were empty, anyone passing by would jump at the shadows. Usagi, who was afraid of just about everything, was quite unhappy.

Usagi made her way to the fortune teller, uncertain of whether this was the right one. Naru's description had included, among other things, an abnormally long line all of the time. She entered the rather raggedy stall, and approached the old man sitting wisely at the table.

"What happened?" she asked timidly. "Isn't there usually a long line?"

The old man sighed. "A rival appeared."

"Really?" Usagi asked. She peered out of what passed for a window at the direction the man pointed. Just through a barely visible lack of buildings and walls, where an alley of sorts allowed the old man to see what lay three streets over, there was a flamboyant tent covered with gaudy colors. There was an abnormally long line. "That's really … flashy. Does everyone go there now?"

"Yes. People like new things."

Now more to cheer the old man up than for any serious desire to have her fortune told, Usagi pulled out some coins, and asked to have her fortune told.

The old man thanked her, and prepared to take her palm. There was a silence. Finally, he spoke. "There is a boy who has a crush on you right now. It is a boy you encounter every day."

"Really?" Usagi squealed. "A boy I see all the time? Maybe it's …" she trailed off. She jumped up and, ignoring the old man, ran out of the door, screaming, "Motoki-san, I'm coming for you!"

The old man blinked and wondered whether he should correct her. _Maalesh_. It was too late to run after her anyways.

Usagi approached the game center with all the gravity of a girl about to meet her future husband. One glance told her what she was looking for. "He's not here yet," she moaned. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Motoki arrived.

"Hey, Usagi. Have you come to play some games? You have perfect timing. I have to start work now." The light-brown-haired young man smiled at the blonde.

Usagi looked up with stars in her eyes. "Hello, Motoki," she said dreamily. _Love of my life and future husband_, she added silently.

Oblivious to her designs, Motoki continued. "The new Sailor V game is in. You haven't played it yet, have you?"

"No," Usagi said excitedly, all thoughts of future husbands out of her mind as she brightened at the prospect of playing with the new arcade game.

As she pushed in token after token, her hands busied themselves with the controls of the action arcade game, oblivious as time passed. Unfortunately, her skill at defeating the monsters on the screen was not yet as good as her aim with her Moon Tiara (which Luna had made her practice many, many times). As a result, every five minutes, she would let out a groan as she lost a life. Soon, Motoki took pity on her and walked over, waiting for another death so he could give her some hints.

"Here, here, here," she muttered over and over as she forced her nimble fingers to obey her. "Shoot!" she growled, furious as the action figure on the screen fired a millisecond too late and died.

"It's pretty hard, isn't it?" Motoki asked from behind her. "I'll give you some hints if you want."

"That would be wonderful," Usagi said, eyes brightening and filling with hearts.

"Watch carefully," Motoki said, as he began to assume control of the arcade game.

Just as Usagi was going to watch him defeat the nth level and capture the Jewel of Immense Power, Luna leapt on top of the game, startling Motoki and losing his life.

"Oh, Luna, why did you have to go and do that?" Usagi wailed. "Now I'll never learn how to defeat Level 62!"

"Oh, is this cat called Luna?" Motoki asked, surprised. "She visits here very often, always meowing for me to let her in."

Luna tugged on Usagi's sleeve insistently, finally biting on the young blonde's finger to get her attention.

"Luna! What are you doing?" Usagi was shocked. Luna had scratched her to get her up on time once or twice, but never _bitten_ her. "All right. I'm coming, I'm coming." She turned and waved good-bye to Motoki.

"I feel happy when I see your face, Usagi. I'll be waiting for you," Motoki told her, smiling at the abundance of innocence and purity in this young teenage girl.

"Okay," Usagi said, eyes softening, before Luna scratched Usagi in her haste. "And this had better be good, Luna," she added under her breath.

As soon as she had left the Crown Arcade Center and was out of earshot, she turned on her cat. First, there was a long lecture (given by her, for once) concerning privacy, and having a life outside of crimefighting. As she finally wore down, and finished scolding Luna for interrupting what could have been the deciding factor of her love life (Luna, of course, just rolled her eyes at this), she finished on a rather petulant note. "Why did you have to come now, anyways? It was just getting good."

Luna, who had tried her best to ignore Usagi's "lecture," sighed. "Did your mom or did your mom not say that you were to come straight home after school—which means no stops by the arcade! I was looking for you _all_ afternoon!"

"Well," Usagi hesitated as she realized that she was in the wrong. "It's not what I'm _supposed_ to do," she reluctantly admitted.

Luna sniffed. "I'm glad you realize that," she said somewhat primly. "You have a very important mission to complete, you know." There was a silence. "Usagi? Usagi!" To the black cat's dismay, Usagi wasn't paying attention.

Finally, Usagi responded. "Oh?" was her intelligent contribution. Her mind was obviously on something else. "Maybe I should have my fortune about Motoki told again?" she mused. Luna sighed as she realized that she would probably never get through to her charge. "But it's too late," Usagi realized. "The old man must be closed by now. The new fortune-teller should be open … but it is probably better to go the old man. He _must_ be wiser. Yet, I want to hear my fortune told right away. What a quandary!" she exclaimed, not realizing that she just utilized a very large vocabulary word. Luna was startled by Usagi's demonstration of intelligence in the use of the word _quandary_ that the scolding she was about to give Usagi died on her lips. Instead, she stared at the blonde in shock. "I know," Usagi finally said triumphantly. "I have to predict which one I should go to by myself!"

Luna looked at Usagi warily. "What are you planning on doing?" she asked apprehensively.

Usagi did not respond. Instead, she withdrew a coin and placed on the tip of her shoe. "If it's heads, I'll go to the old man. If it is tails, I'll go to the new fortune-telling house," she decided. "Here goes." So saying, she braced her foot, and bent her leg, balancing on one leg the coin carefully balanced on top of the shoe that was hovering in midair. Suddenly, she straightened her leg explosively, and the coin went flying into the air …

… along with her shoe. She watched with some shock as her shoe flew up and fell down in a graceful arc …

… and hit Chiba Mamoru's head.

For a few moments, the college student looked at the shoe with some surprise, and rubbed his head. "Ouch," he noted wryly, feeling the bump that was already beginning to form atop his head.

"Oh, no," Usagi wailed. "It's that conceited jerk again!"

Mamoru had by this time realized who had thrown the shoe. "That hurt, odango atama," he said.

"Is that all you can say?" Usagi challenged, standing firmly despite her missing shoe and looking him in the eye (or at least tried ... her short stature somewhat hindered her).

Mamoru let a smirk flit across his face. "If you don't behave any more gracefully," he drawled, "then … you won't get any boyfriends!"

Usagi's face crumpled into tears. "Thanks a lot!" she wailed. "I feel so terrible, thanks to you!"

Mamoru looked rather hesitantly at the blonde who had just collapsed in tears, not having expected her to cry just because of a well-placed insult. What was he to do now?

Umino gazed out from beneath his large bottle-type glasses, his eyes resembling those of a bug, magnified by the power of his lenses which reduced his myopia somewhat. He had taken Naru's advice, and come to the closest fortune-telling house. It was newly constructed, and a grandiose site to behold. Mysterious paintings and dim lighting magnified the altogether otherworldly look of the place. "Wow …" he whispered as he entered the house to have his fortune told.

The fortune-teller was a young girl whose form he could barely make out in the dim lighting. For a moment, he thought that she had red eyes, but immediately dismissed that as her obviously gray eyes stared at him mistily.

"Look into my eyes …" she whispered eerily, and he found himself mesmerized both by the sound of her voice and the color of her eyes. "You are a great servant to an evil devil," the girl continued, voice stressing _great_ and _evil_ as the nuances of her tone hypnotized Umino even more. "You can do whatever you desire."

"I do as I wish," Umino said in a dull tone, repeating her words as she instructed. At her gesture, he left the dark room. Unknown to him, the fortune-teller had thrown off her guise, and was now cackling madly in the form of a misshapen hag.

"I can get the energy soon, Master Jadeite!" she shouted at the ceiling, triumphant.

Didn't anyone ever tell her not to count her chickens before they hatched?

Usagi, meanwhile, had no idea that not far from her house, a youma was ensnaring Umino. As she walked into her house, she saw her father on the couch, reading the newspaper.

Tsukino Kenji looked up to see his daughter happily skipping the door. "Hello, Usagi. How was your day?"

"Fine," Usagi said, stopping to pick up an apple and munching on it. "So, were you shopping, Daddy?"

Kenji chuckled. "Yes. I came home early, and mother caught me. She told me to go to the store and buy the apples you are currently enjoying right now."

"You chose delicious apples," Usagi pronounced, throwing the core away in a nearby trash can (having finished the apple already). "I'm going upstairs now."

"Don't forget to do your homework," Kenji said, and then went back to his newspaper.

_ I bet Motoki is very kind, like my father._

No doubt if Kenji knew of his daughter's thought, he wouldn't be as complacent.

For the first time in a while, Usagi had not overslept, and she and Naru were walking to school together amiably. For some reason, Naru was particularly prone to giggles that morning. Finally, she asked something that had obviously been on her mind all morning.

"Did Umino talk to you?" Naru finally managed to ask.

"What are you talking about?" Usagi asked, completely confused. "Why would Umino talk to me?"

"Well," Naru suppressed another chuckle. "It appears that Umino has a crush on someone."

"Who?" Usagi asked blankly.

"You!" Naru declared triumphantly, collapsing in laughter at the poleaxed look on Usagi's face.

"What!" Usagi shrieked, her voice soaring several decibels higher than a _normal_ human voice could manage.

"But," Naru continued teasing, "Since he's so _pure-hearted_ and _shy_, he can't bring himself to say anything about it."

"You have _got_ to be kidding!" Usagi cried. "Umino? Me? _I_ always thought he had a crush on his little bugs."

"Who knows?" Naru asked. "You might end up married to him one day?"

Usagi sniffed. "Umino and me? As _if_. _I'm_ going to end up with Motoki."

"Motoki?" Naru asked in a sly voice. "So have you been holding out on me?"

"I don't know what you're talking about-" Usagi was interrupted when Naru tackled her to "tickle the information out of her," and the two spent the rest of the walk to school chasing after each other. By this time, the matter of Umino's crush on her had long left Usagi's mind. She did not know, however, what Umino's little crush would portend.

The first clue she received that something was wrong was when Umino met her at the school gate, dressed in a peculiar suit and tie. His glasses had been replaced by thicker, blue ones that matched his suit.

"Hey, Usagi. Let's go on a date," Umino said, but his words were a command, not a request.

"Umino?" Naru asked, taken aback. "What happened to _you_?"

"If you come to school like that, you're going to get in trouble," Usagi pointed out.

"Forget that," Umino scoffed in a tone very unlike his usual self. "Let's go out, Usagi."

At this moment, Ms. Haruna arrived at the school gate. She stared at Umino in shock. "Umino? What are you doing dressed like that?"

Umino did not respond. Instead, he took out a biscuit and began eating it, purposefully ignoring his teacher.

"I repeat, Umino, what are you thinking about-"

Ms. Haruna was interrupted when Umino rudely reached over and flicked up his homeroom teacher's skirt, displaying her tights and panties for all (actually only Usagi and Naru) to see.

Ms. Haruna let out a shriek, not expecting her valedictorian-to-be to act so disgracefully.

"It's like this," Umino said, rolling his eyes. "I don't give a damn about you and what you want, so fuck off." He then proceeded to saunter away.

Ms. Haruna, who had just been dumped by her boyfriend the night before, was currently in a very fragile emotional mood, and she had been looking forward to taking it out on her students. Now, she proceeded to wail out her troubles to a very confused and shocked Usagi and Naru, proclaiming, "I'll never get married!"

Usagi and Naru mumbled a few platitudes before fleeing inside the school, leaving Ms. Haruna to wail her troubles out to thin air.

All through class, Ms. Haruna was visibly upset. Although she no longer unburdened her troubles to her students, she still looked ready to collapse in a nervous breakdown at any instant. When Umino (who was reading his manga, blatantly ignoring the lesson), let out a rather loud laugh, Ms. Haruna responded reflexively, beginning to scold Umino. As she moved in his direction, however, she fell flat on her face. Someone had tripped her.

Ms. Haruna winced and rubbed her back. "Itai," she muttered softly under her breath. She looked up into the lazy face of Yuuiji. "What do you think you're doing, young man?" she demanded in an outraged tone.

"You have to speak more quietly in the classroom," he said in a careless voice. "Teacher," he added as an afterthought.

For a moment, it looked as if Ms. Haruna was about to have a breakdown again. Instead, she erupted in anger, and ordered Yuuiji to the principal's office, promising his weeks and weeks of detention.

Of course, Naru and Usagi did not miss a chance to gossip about this later on at lunchtime.

"So Umino went to the fortune teller?" Usagi asked in a hushed tone.

"Mm-hmm," Naru said, eyes wide. "Because I told him to. But you know what's really creepy?"

"What?" Usagi asked eagerly.

"Yuuji _also_ went to the fortune teller, and he's acting weird, too," Naru nodded wisely.

A contemplative look entered Usagi's eyes, as several pieces of the puzzle fit together in her mind's eye. Before her thought could cohere, she and Naru shrieked and jumped back as a rock flew through the now-broken school window.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing!" a nearby teacher exclaimed at the culprit, who was none other than Umino.

"Stop acting like such a big-shot!" Umino said, glaring at the teacher. "You're not as smart as you think you are."

"What?" the teacher demanded, unused to students challenging his authority.

"Yeah, yeah," another student chimed in. "Just because you have a little power doesn't mean you have to abuse it!"

"Yeah," other students chorused.

"Every day, it's the same old thing," another student picked up the train of thought. "We have to obey you. Well, who says we _have_ to it? Your authority doesn't extend as far as you think it does!"

None were aware of the two shadowy creatures standing in the shadows. The youma hissed, its breath coalescing to form the words, "Go riot now, my seeds of hate."

The Dark Kingdom General, meanwhile, gazed on satisfactorily, pleased that he would not be punished this time, as he slowly extracted the surface energy from the increasingly appetizing mob mentality-synergy. "Ah," he inhaled the smell of the gathered energy with pleasure, "the energy of rebellious youth."

He watched in delight as two girls (a blonde and a redhead) ran up to the growing mob of teenagers. "What do you think you're doing?" the blonde demanded.

"Hey, Usagi," Umino slurred his words as he winked at the blonde. "Let's kiss!" He began staggering towards her, only to collapse slightly from lack of energy.

The blonde began wailing in fear, confusion, and plain unhappiness. "I don't like you like this," she cried, although Jadeite was almost certain he could catch a stray thought that went along the lines of _not that I like you normally either_.

Jadeite frowned, however, when his control over Umino faltered just enough so that Umino turned around and motioned for everyone to leave. "This is stupid," he said. "Let's go somewhere else."

Jadeite motioned for his fortune-teller youma to go back to its position, even as he determined to search the Dark Kingdom's Library for the reason he had lost control over the boy.

After Jadeite's departure, everyone lost their desire to riot almost immediately. For a moment, there was confusion as students milled about, uncertain of why they had just felt intense feelings of hate rushing through them. In the end, they gradually disbanded.

Luna was not easily put off track. "I feel some bad energy," she muttered to herself as she proceeded to leave her charge and investigate the surroundings.

Usagi, who had finally decided to peek out from beneath the fingers covering her eyes, asked tremulously, "Is it over?"

"It's all right," Naru said, although she, too, looked nervous as her eyes darted all around her, as if waiting for another mob to form immediately.

"Thank goodness that's over with," Usagi said, sighing with relief. "Can you believe what Umino did?" She shuddered.

"Did you hear you what you said?" Naru asked. "'_I don't like you like this_,'" she mimicked. "As if you _ever_ like him."

"He's tolerable most of the time," Usagi said. "But … eurgh."

"Yes," Naru said thoughtfully. "He was acting strangely."

"I wonder-" but Usagi was interrupted by the insistent tug of Luna's teeth. "Luna," she scolded, "that hurts."

But Luna continued pawing at her legs and meowing, obviously wishing to speak to Usagi privately. Usagi rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Naru," she apologized, "but I think I have to take Luna home now. The excitement is making her nervous or something."

Naru, who was absentmindedly contemplating Umino's extreme change in behavior, nodded noncommittally and made a couple of farewell mumbles before forgetting about Usagi entirely. Her mind was on other matters.

Usagi, meanwhile, was talking to herself absentmindedly as well. "Umino did leave, but I wonder what in the world he was thinking about. It isn't like him to be so … violent …"

Luna finally managed to get a word in edgewise. "I believe that the evil ones are behind this and several other similar incidents."

"With Umino?" Usagi asked, surprised. She had not thought that her opponents would try to ally themselves with an entomology-obsessed nerd, of all things.

"I think he and the other students have been possessed," Luna said gravely.

"I think," Usagi said slowly, recalling once again the various pieces of the puzzle that had almost clicked together, "that the fortune teller has something to do with it."

"What?" Luna asked, brought up short by the seemingly random statement.

"Umino started acting strangely _after_ he went to see the new fortune teller." Usagi walked more briskly, now heading in the direction of the new fortune teller. "It's all very suspicious."

"I agree," Luna said. "And that's very good thinking on your part. I would never have connected the two … the fortune teller … hmm … Very good observational skills," Luna said proudly.

"Then I get a new toy?" Usagi asked brightly. She had been experimenting with her tiara, and found it highly exciting to demolish trees with the flick of a wrist.

"Er … no," Luna sweatdropped. "I think the tiara is enough for now. Besides, we must get going."

"Right," Usagi nodded. "The fortune-teller is down the next block."

As Usagi began to sprint down the last block, she continued her conversation with Luna.

"Am I going to have to fight again?" she asked in a half-whine, half-tremulous whisper. Although the last battle had been a victory, she still had nightmares of the youma attacking her. That isn't to say that she didn't have dreams of Tuxedo Kamen saving her, of course.

"Of course," Luna said rather sharply, before her voice softened. "You have more experience this time. You'll defeat it easily," she said encouragingly as they arrived at the entrance of the massive and almost gaudily decorated tent.

"Moon-" Usagi paused. Her fear and nervousness as the tent seemed to loom before her and the sky began to darken (the thought that her mom was going to kill her for getting home so late briefly flitted across her mind), so much so that the transformation words completely fled her mind. "Luna," she half-whispered. "What are the transformation words again?"

"Moon Prism Power Make Up," Luna sighed. Somehow, her slightly dissipated memories of the past had included the fact that the senshi usually felt the transformation words instinctively. Usagi, however, defied all of the wispy memories Luna held, her mind muddled by the exceptionally freeze from then until now.

"Moon Prism Power, Make-Up!" Usagi said confidently as the warm rush of power almost overwhelmed her yet again. She was not yet used to the feelings of bliss the transformation brought her. Then she proceeded to enter the formidable tent.

The dark room was illuminated by carefully placed, glowing crystal balls and eerie, flickering candles made of a type of phosphorescent wax. The youma was still clad in her human form. Dark green hair and black pools in the place of eyes adorned a face covered with gauzy veils and flimsy scarves. Surrounding her (if she could be called a "her" rather than an "it") were the students of the surrounding schools.

"That was most wonderful," the youma said hypnotically, "_most_ wonderful. Now, you may have your reward. You can go wild all over the city. Just remember that we're striving for _organized_ havoc here, all right? We wouldn't all of that death and destruction to go to waste, would we?"

"Okay," the students echoed dully and distantly.

"Stop in the name of the law," a voice announced, before snickering and whispering, "I've always wanted to say that."

"What?"

"What's worse than men who betray their true loves and stab them in the back after leading an entire troop of enemies into their city to sack and completely destroy the entire civilization is youma who don't care about other people's feelings!"

"Who is it?" the youma demanded, "and _no_ youma care about other people's feelings," the youma added under its breath.

"For love and justice, I am the sailor-suited soldier, Sailor Moon, and in the name of the Moon, I will punish you!"

The youma didn't appear very impressed by her speech. Its only response was to hurl what appeared to be an ordinary Tarot card at her. It developed a razor-sharp edge and enlarged, and Sailor Moon barely dodged it in time.

"That was close," Sailor Moon sighed in relief, before having to dodge yet another one.

"It's not time to be talking," Luna hissed, "the best defense is an offense."

At this moment, the youma remembered that it still had a mass of eager slaves awaiting its order. "Get her!" the youma roared, finally shrugging off its human disguise to reveal a rather humanoid youma with a leer and a gypsy costume that fluttered raggedly in the nonexistent wind to cover the monstrosity that was its body.

The possessed students began crowding Sailor Moon, who was very frightened. "Stop it. Go away!" she cried, trying not to hurt them, knowing that they were innocent. "If you get any closer, I will have to beat you up," she tried to threaten (and failed miserably, might I add).

Just as Sailor Moon was seriously considering using her tiara on the horde of students, a single rose hit the floor with a cling, and the students halted in their very steps. "Everyone stopped!" Sailor Moon said incredulously.

"Who is it?" the youma demanded, reading to take out any new enemy with its other tarot cards in its hands.

"Tuxedo Kamen," Sailor Moon sighed blissfully, recognizing the style.

"No matter what happens," the masked man encouraged, "don't give up." He refrained from mentioning that he would watch from the sidelines to make sure that she could really handle it.

"I will," Sailor Moon promised adoringly.

"See you later," Tuxedo Kamen said wryly before disappearing off in the darkness.

"Thank you Tuxedo Kamen," Sailor Moon sighed to herself. Her starry-eyed daydreams involving beds of roses and Tuxedo Kamen and her were interrupted by another attack by the gypsy youma.

This time, Sailor Moon barely dodged it and, as a result, she received a rather large cut. "That looks nasty," she murmured to herself, while wondering why she wasn't feeling any pain yet.

Luna, seeing that Sailor Moon wasn't going to remember on her own any time soon, cried out, "Sailor Moon! Remember to use the tiara!"

Sailor Moon blinked. "Oh, yeah." Her demeanor turned grim as she prepared to use her attack. "Moon Tiara Action!"

The youma had no time to dodge, not having expected such a powerful attack from one who was so cringing mere minutes ago. As a result, it disintegrated rather spectacularly.

When the last of the sparks died away, and all that was left was a dwindling pile of ashes, Sailor Moon allowed herself to let out a whoop. "I did it!" she cried, picking up Luna and swinging the cat around in her joy and relief. The ensorcelled students also broke out of their spell.

Umino, one among their number, blinked blearily as he emerged from his mental slumber. "What?" he asked dizzily, as the ones around him began to awake as well.

Sailor Moon paid them no heed, disappearing off into the night.

None noticed the shadow that was Jadeite. He closed his eyes in a combination of frustration and fear. "I failed," he whispered. "I'm in deep shit." He knew that the Dark Queen would not be happy when she received his news. She would be _very_ unhappy indeed.

The next day, Naru took some pleasure out of the relating the details of the past few days to Umino, who was rapidly becoming more and more concerned for his life.

"I flicked up Haruna-sensei's skirt?" he asked incredulously.

"You also tried to kiss Usagi. And you broke the window of the teacher's office. And-" she paused. "Hey, Umino, where are you going?"

"Home," he said flatly. "There is only despair and expulsion in front of me. I might as well go home and miss the shame."

"Good morning!" Usagi said brightly as she greeted her friend, Naru.

Umino recalled dimly that Naru said he had tried to kiss Usagi. _He_ had tried to kiss _Usagi_. "Umm … Usagi ... umm … I'm …"

"Don't worry about it," Usagi smiled gently, knowing that Umino was probably ready to run away and cry at this point.

"Yeah, that's right," Umino counseled himself. "Just don't worry too much about it." He continued whispering the words "Don't worry about it" like a mantra over and over as he approached the school.

Usagi, meanwhile, was having an internal monologue about ungrateful classmates who didn't realize what she had to go through on their behalves.

To be continued …

And that's another load off my back.


End file.
